Gate Crypto Flash News and Market Updates

Air raid sirens were activated in Kyiv today, with multiple explosions reported in the city.

According to Korea Economic Daily, the KOSPI triggered circuit breaker mechanisms 10 consecutive trading days through July 24, with five sell-side and five buy-side halts alternating, causing extreme price swings. The index closed the week at 6,690.62 points, down 1.91% week-on-week. Volatility was amplified by leveraged ETFs betting on semiconductor heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Sentiment shifted after Alphabet's earnings on July 23 reaffirmed expanded capital expenditure to me

According to iM Securities report released on July 26, South Korea's second-quarter GDP grew 0.6% quarter-over-quarter and 3.7% year-over-year, exceeding market expectations of 0.4% sequential growth. The semiconductor export boom drove the outperformance, with goods and services exports contributing 0.7 percentage points to growth. iM Securities analyst Park Sang-hyun expects the growth momentum to persist in the second half of 2026, with full-year GDP growth projected at 3.6%, supported by sus

According to Yonhapnews, rising Middle East tensions are driving oil prices higher in late July 2026, fueling South Korean concerns over inflation in the second half of the year. If oil price gains continue, consumer prices could accelerate, potentially prompting faster interest rate increases. Additional U.S. tariffs and currency fluctuations are also adding to economic uncertainty for the country's exports and domestic consumption recovery.

According to Yonhapinfomax, President Lee Jae-myung met with six major venture capital firms in Silicon Valley on July 25, including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, General Catalyst, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), and Khosla Ventures. These firms are among the most prominent venture investors globally, known for identifying emerging technologies and early-stage founders before markets fully form and nurturing them into global enterprises. The firms hav

The European Union added crypto exchange HTX to its Russia sanctions regime on July 23, according to a regulation published in the EU's Official Journal. Beginning Aug. 23, people and companies in the bloc are barred from transacting with HTX. The EU identified the exchange as "HTX (HUOBI GLOBAL SA)" among third-country financial institutions it said were significantly frustrating restrictions imposed over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. EU operators cannot engage directly or indirectly in transac

According to U.S. Central Command, the Lavine oil tanker, flagged under Mozambique, was forced to stop its journey in the Gulf of Oman on July 24 after its crew repeatedly violated a blockade and ignored multiple warnings. The vessel is no longer bound for Iran.

According to the U.S. Central Command, the U.S. naval blockade of Iran remains in full enforcement as of July 25. The operation has forced 12 merchant vessels attempting to break the blockade to alter their course, disabled the transit capabilities of 2 non-compliant ships, and conducted boarding inspections on 2 vessels to ensure full compliance.

According to U.S. Central Command, U.S. forces boarded the Charminar, a tanker flying the Comoros flag, in the Arabian Sea earlier today. The vessel has since resumed its voyage.

According to Yonhapnews, investors who bought KOSDAQ 150 ETFs four months ago are facing losses of nearly 40% as the index fell to levels last seen a year earlier. One salaried investor, who had invested in the ETF expecting gains from government market stimulus policies, noted the KOSDAQ's recent sharp decline had wiped out recent gains from earlier in the year.

According to financial data firm F&Guide, SK Hynix domestic shares fell over 28% through July 21 while the company's U.S.-listed American Depositary Receipts (ADR) surged, creating a price disparity of 51%. On July 14, the domestic stock closed at 1.91 million Korean won while ADR shares climbed 27.29% to $193.92, converting to approximately 2.9 million won at the 10:1 exchange ratio. The price divergence has drawn significant investor attention, with SK Hynix becoming the most-searched stock am

According to Axios, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a halt to military airstrikes on Iran on July 24, marking the first pause in nearly two weeks of escalating military operations over control of the Strait of Hormuz. The two nations had engaged in 13 consecutive days of exchanges through July 23, resulting in four U.S. military deaths. Iranian Health Ministry officials confirmed no attacks occurred, stating Iran experienced "a quiet night." Diplomatic efforts are advancing as an Omani deleg

According to Korea Exchange and Koscom CHECK, individual investors reversed course on July 24, pouring 454 billion Korean won into single-stock leveraged ETFs after dumping approximately 547 billion won over the previous four trading days (July 21-23). The buying spree on July 24 alone nearly offset the four-day selling streak, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix leveraged products accounting for the bulk of purchases. The move came as both stocks tumbled 7-8% that day, dragging leveraged prod

According to a Wall Street Journal report on Friday, Robinhood is in talks with Crypto.com to expand its prediction markets offering by adding yes-or-no event contracts supplied by the cryptocurrency exchange. Robinhood launched its prediction markets hub in March 2025 with regulatory support from Kalshi, and later expanded to include ForecastEx and Rotella.

According to Seoul High Court, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won was ordered on July 24 to pay 944 billion won in divorce settlement as cash instead of shares, thereby avoiding share dilution and management control risks. The court's decision to require cash payment rather than equity transfer allows the chairman to maintain his shareholding and control of group operations. Market analysts note that avoiding share distribution eliminates potential governance disputes, though the substantial cash re

According to Korea's Financial Investment Association, on July 24, unsecured corporate bond yields reached their highest levels in approximately 30 months. AA-rated 3-year bonds rose to 4.653%, up 4.2 basis points, marking the highest level since November 14, 2023. BBB-rated 3-year bonds climbed to 10.450%, also up 4.2 basis points and hitting a 2-year 5-month peak. Both rates have surged over 165 basis points compared to a year ago. The rate increases reflect rising international oil prices fol

According to Financial News citing Korea Exchange data, KOSDAQ's daily trading volume collapsed 66.1% from 15.3 trillion Korean won on May 27 to 5.2 trillion won on July 24. Over the same two-month period, 14 single-stock leverage ETFs tracking Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix generated 392.1 trillion won in cumulative trades, surpassing the entire KOSDAQ market's 359.4 trillion won—a 32.7 trillion won excess. KOSDAQ's credit financing balance fell 29.9% to 6.91 trillion won as of July 23, eight

According to News1, South Korea's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 2.75% on July 16, marking the first increase in three years and six months since January 2023. Following the move, major commercial banks hiked deposit and savings rates, prompting securities firms to raise yields on cash management accounts (CMAs) and short-term products to retain customer funds. Multiple securities companies, including Mirae Asset Securities, Korea Investment & Securi

According to Nvidia, Microsoft, Meta, and 21 other tech companies, CEO Jensen Huang led a joint letter to U.S. Congress on Friday urging lawmakers to support open-source AI models and avoid overly broad or premature restrictions. The signatories warned that restrictive policies could stifle market competition and push AI innovation overseas. The letter acknowledged legitimate national security concerns but argued that targeted legal and commercial mechanisms, rather than blanket restrictions on

According to BIS data released on July 26, South Korea's won reached its lowest real effective exchange rate since the 2009 financial crisis in June. The won's real effective exchange rate fell to 82.99, down 1.75 points from May, marking the lowest level in 17 years and 3 months since March 2009. Meanwhile, the Japanese yen hit a historic record low of 65.3, ranking last among 64 countries tracked by BIS. The won-to-yen rate dropped to 889.83 yen per 100 won on July 24, its lowest level in two